Where Art and Greenery Meet: Hiking Along The Tujunga Wash
The 2-mile loop stretching between Burbank Boulevard and Victory Boulevard, features the grassy, tree-lined Tujunga Wash Greenway. It showcases L.A.'s longest mural, Great Wall of Los Angeles, painted on the concrete wall of the Tujunga Wash, which runs alongside Los Angeles Valley College.
STARTING POINT
Intersection of Burbank Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue, in North Hollywood adjacent to Los Angeles Valley College.
WALKING DIRECTIONS
Enter the Tujunga Wash Greenway from Coldwater Canyon Boulevard, just north of Burbank Boulevard (on the east side of the wash). Walk upstream/north and look into the channel on your left to view the Great Wall of Los Angeles.
This half-mile-long mural is the work of Judith Baca and hundreds of collaborators, including well-known local artists Eva Cockcroft and Patssi Valdez. Judith Baca is one of the founders of the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), L.A.'s leading nonprofit mural organization. She is responsible for thousands of thought-provoking murals throughout Los Angeles.
Great Wall was painted in five sections dating from 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, and 1983. It depicts the history of the Los Angeles area from 20,000 BC to present day. It showcases many neglected, but important historical incidents, including the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, the destruction of Chavez Ravine, and the Chicano Rights Movement.
The mural was recently restored (dedication in October 2011) by SPARC.
When you reach Oxnard Street look across Oxnard. Here, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy/Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority (SMMC/MRCA) completed the Tujunga Wash Demonstration Project, where both sides of the wash are landscaped between Oxnard to Victory Boulevard (a little over half a mile). A stream along the wash diverts water from the flood control channel and into the aquifer.
ENDING POINT
Victory Boulevard is the tum-around point for the walk.
DIRECTIONS TO THE START
BIKE: From the Metro Red Line North Hollywood Station, bike west on Chandler Boulevard and turn right (north) on Coldwater Canyon Avenue heading North until you reach Burbank Boulevard. Or from any Orange Line stop between the North Hollywood Station and Valley College Station.
BIKE RIDES: There is a 2-mile bike path along the Tujunga Wash starting at Chandler Boulevard heading north along Coldwater Canyon Avenue towards Vanowen Street. There is also a 6.5-mile ride from Chandler Boulevard and heading east adjacent to the Orange Line and connects with the Sepulveda Basin. See the map above for details.
TRANSIT: Take the Metro Red Line to the North Hollywood Station, and then take the Metro bus line 156 to Los Angeles Valley College (Burbank Blvd and Coldwater Canyon Ave). Or from the North Hollywood Station, take the Orange Line to the Valley College Station and walk east along Burbank Blvd.
CAR: Exit the 101 Freeway at Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Studio City and head north on Coldwater. Turn left on Burbank Boulevard, then make an immediate right into L.A. Valley College. Park on the access road that runs between the college and the Tujunga Wash (or, on most weekends, you can park in the college's parking lot along Burbank Boulevard).
An alternative route is to exit the 170 Freeway at Burbank Boulevard and head west towards Coldwater Canyon Ave.
DINING
Le Sushi
12524 Burbank Boulevard
CA 91607-1504
(818) 763-6600
Bar One - Beer & Wine Parlour
12518 Burbank Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA 91607
(818) 509-1938
Cambridge Farm
12431 Burbank Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 91607
(818) 506-6661
Skaf's Grill
6008 Laurel Canyon Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91606
(818) 985-5701